From the time of France's King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette or slightly before, a petit vest pocket 'necessaire', complete with most original implements, including 2 perfume bottles, ear wax spoon and tongue scraper, a 3-leaf note pad, and more. An 18th century Palais Royal 'necessaire' or travel vanity set, perfume caddy etui or case which is decorated in mother of pearl and also silver foil set into incised holes for a unique patterning. The body of the case is well over 200 year old mother of pearl incised and inlaid with gold and silver 'foil', some of which has gone missing over the 280 or so years. . This elegant sewing and vanity tools in a 'necessaire', a small vest etui here, of essential 'necessities' for the nobility, and quite likely they purchased it via the boutiques of the old Palais Royal, Paris - a center of opulent enterprise, boutiques offering the best the world had to offer then, to Royals and nobles and their wives and mistresses. The palace that was one home to Cardinale Richelieu, its history is a fascinating study. Full measurements noted on photos.
Very good condition for age and type, it is remarkable when we find these very early French mother of pearl etui, and even more so when any of the original fitted vanity and writing or sewing tools remain. This one not only has 2 sizes of scent/perfume or salts glass with silver caps, it also has 2 tongue scrapers, tooth scale tools with an ear wax spoon on one end, an opening for a stylus and the original 3-leaf ivory note pad to write upon. There's a funnel, too, sterling silver, to fill the flasks. Both little flasks have stoppers as well as their caps, though the tinier one is currently stuck. On the outer case, a couple of the corner trim pieces of mother of pearl have been lost over the centuries, so it's less than perfect. More surprising, however, is that both of the carved ivory vignette cameo mounted on broad sides under their convex cover glass and backed in colored foil still remain and have no losses. Interior is excellent for age.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.
